Shipping on verge of digital revolution

“The shipping industry is on the verge of a new technology revolution, and the combination of sensor networks, connectivity at sea, data analytics and computer power is driving digitalization at sea,” Christos Chryssakis, principal researcher and group leader for Energy Efficiency and Fuels at DNV GL, said.

Ship owners have started to wake up to the benefits of digitalization and the internet of things (IoT), and two early adopters of machine-to-machine communications --- United Arab Shipping Co. and Maersk Line --- are linking networks of sensors on their ships to onshore servers, and analyzing the condition and performance of onboard systems.